


Swimming

by k8 (paintedmaypole)



Category: Bourne Identity series (movie)
Genre: Gen, Yuletide 2008
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-25
Updated: 2008-12-25
Packaged: 2017-10-18 14:39:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/189924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paintedmaypole/pseuds/k8
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He wakes up under water.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swimming

**Author's Note:**

> Fandom: Bourne Identity series (movie)  
> Written for: Kirsten Sea in the Yuletide 2008 Challenge

_One:_

He wakes up under water. It's dark but after he blinks and clears the water from his eyes he can see stars above him. Then the water washes over him and there's salt stinging his eyes. Which means it must be the ocean, but his head is aching and his fingers-- he can't feel his fingers, or his legs. Then everything is dark again.

Later there are voices. He's lying on something cold. His back is bare and it stings everywhere. They tell him he was almost dead. They tell him there were bullets inside of him and something-- a sort of laser. All he knows is Zurich is important. He wishes he knew his own name.

***

He wakes up in France. There's a rug underneath him and there's the sound of breathing above him. Marie is in the bed, just to his left, and he lies there, feeling the carpet underneath him, the blanket on his chest, listening to her breathing. In, out. In, out.

It's gotten cold in the night. Cold enough that he can see his breath in the air as he breathes. He doesn't feel the cold though. At least not in a way that bothers him. He wonders if that's normal.

The next day he kills a man, again. This one seemed to deserve it, possibly. Later he tells the men on the phone that Marie is dead too. She might as well be.

When he finds her again it's next to the ocean. The sun hits the sand and it's bright against his eyes. He tries not to think about the angles he isn't seeing, the openness of the beach, the buildings which someone could be watching him from. Instead, he's just glad to see her. They aren't dead yet. He still doesn't know his name.

***

 _Two:_

He wakes up under water. Only he isn't underwater, it's night and he's just dreaming the same dream again, over and over. They chase him out of India and he heads towards Naples. To get there he goes to Mumbai first, then Dubai. He stops in Tangier to get supplies and the headaches keep coming. In Naples they're stupid and unprepared. It's what he was hoping for. He hacks into the phone easily, then runs.

That night he dreams about the beach. He dreams about the sand being too hot to walk on and the sun being so bright he can't see. He just stands there blind, and feels someone watching him from down the beach. Maybe they know his name. He's awake before he can ask.

The next day he sets up a meeting with Nicky. There are people everywhere, watching for him, but he expects that. First he jumps on the tram, stands one car back and watches as Nicky climbs on board and waits. She looks twitchy and nervous. Her arms shake when he grabs her shoulder. He doesn't blame her.

He moves her down to the subway station. She doesn't have any answers, at least not answers that mean anything. Everything is a mess.

***

He wakes up knowing something. He killed a man once, in Germany. He killed a man and they blamed the man's wife. He doesn't kill Abbott when he's told the truth. He hopes that counts for something.

He takes the train to Moscow. It isn't over, but he didn't think it would be.

***

 _Three:_

He wakes up under water. He's in a white tank, the water is cold and the ceiling tiles above him seem like they're moving. He can't breathe but he also can't move. Something is holding him down, keeping him heavy in the water. He thinks he's drugged. Then he wakes up. He's in Paris, in a cheap hotel. The bedspread is pink and smells like mildew. There's dust on the remote.

In Paris he finds Martin Kreutz. This is his new function: to apologize, over and over to people who hate him. He delivers the message and then moves on, to London, to Madrid, to Tangier. Now Nicky needs to go on the run. He goes through all the same motions: hair, clothes, money, train ticket. She's had better training, maybe she'll survive

***

He wakes up wondering about his priorities. Is he apologizing, getting answers, or both? Maybe getting answers is a way towards apologizing. He has some information from Nick Daniels, a little from Simon Ross. He still gets headaches at night and at the end of the day, when the sun is angled just low enough that it hits you in the eyes.

Next he goes to New York. It feels strange to be in America, to feel like his voice fits in with all the other people speaking around him. He feels like he blends or just blends a little better.

In the end they tell him it's all about choices. They tell him it was his own choice. That he chose to forget, that he chose everything that led him to today. In the end, maybe they were right. He can't tell anymore.

There's shooting and more running. He stands on a rooftop and looks down. He thinks maybe in the end it's about trust. Maybe he trusted the wrong people or maybe he just wanted the wrong things. They tell him his real name is David Webb. He doesn't know. Instead he sees water below him and jumps.

He'll wake up somewhere. It's a beginning.


End file.
